“Father, elder brother, I don’t think this is a good idea. I’ve already found out Zhang Rentao’s background. He’s a relative of the county magistrate’s wife. I heard he calls the county magistrate his brother-in-law. If we really make a move against him, wouldn’t we be alerting him? Father, we haven’t used your plan yet. It’s not good to let them know our trump card right now.”
“That makes sense. We don’t need to worry about it. Since they want to interfere with our business in Shaoming County, let’s play along. Anyway, the Long family isn’t short of money. Let’s just lower the price and see how much money they have to compete with us.”
Taozi had been observing the Long family's movements these past few days, and sure enough, the Long family started lowering prices. Upon hearing this news, the people naturally flocked to the store.
Taozi was not one to mince words. If the other party dared to lower the price, he certainly dared to do the same. This was the authority that Sister Xichun had given him. So both parties lowered their prices. If you said five coins a pound, I would dare to say four coins. If you said twenty coins a bolt, I would dare to say nineteen coins.
Those who are closely monitoring the business of both sides are naturally happy to watch the spectacle, fearing that they might have bought at a high price. So they are all watching to see if the other side can give it away for free, in which case they will be the ones who benefit.
Xichun wasn't worried. After all, they had originally intended to use the money to bring down the Long family. Besides, the Long family only had businesses in the county town. They could always earn it back later. They couldn't afford to lose face.
Fu Changfeng did not sit idly by. After contacting the nearby garrison, Fu Changfeng, Li Cheng, and several other families discussed and collected all the charges against the Long family, preparing to file a lawsuit against them the next day.
"Father, the yamen runners from the county government have arrived. They say they're going to hold our family accountable. Someone accused us of illegally occupying land, harming the people, and killing them." Long Gengcai, the eldest son of the Long family, rushed over to report this news to Long Shijin.
"Oh, it seems this county magistrate is no coward after all. He actually managed to incite people to sue our family and drive us out. I'd like to see how they dare to arrest me and make me confess!" Upon hearing this, Long Shijin laughed instead of getting angry. At the same time, he instructed his two sons to quickly gather the thugs and the people so that they could resist if the county government made any moves.
Fu Changfeng learned that the yamen runners who went to call for help were all guarded by the Long family, and that thugs had gathered at the Long family's gate, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.
"Yu Ping, take my letter to Commander Li and tell him to send five hundred soldiers over directly. Since they dare not come to the yamen, we will hold the trial in front of the Long family's gate." Fu Changfeng handed the letter to Zhao Yu Ping and had several guards accompany him to the outskirts of the county town.
Long Shijin, seeing that there was no news, thought that Fu Changfeng was just bluffing and was relieved. He figured that as long as he didn't go to the yamen, the yamen runners couldn't do anything to him.
At that time, as long as I write letters to the major families in Juzhou Prefecture who are on good terms with me, they will naturally have ways to put pressure on Fu Changfeng. At that time, Fu Changfeng will lose all his prestige and will have to listen to me obediently in Shaoming County.
Unbeknownst to him, a bloody storm had already swept through the city, and the crackdown on the city's major families had quietly begun.
“Father, I think they’re all bark and no bite. They’re just a paper tiger. In the future, they’ll be at the mercy of our Long family, won’t they?” Long Gengcai said, fanning himself with an air of confidence.
"Exactly. As long as we have something on him and use it to blackmail him, let's see if he still dares to treat our family like this."
"Hehe, I don't think this county magistrate is a threat. Everyone go and rest. I want to see what kind of trouble they can cause."
Just then, a servant rushed in in a hurry, which displeased the father and his two sons who were talking.
"What's the panic? It's not like the sky is falling. Can't we talk things out slowly?"
"Master, eldest young master, second young master, something terrible has happened! The soldiers have completely surrounded our mansion, and the magistrate has even had a table brought out for the trial, saying he wants to hold the trial right in front of our gate!" The servant hurriedly finished speaking, which alarmed the father and his two sons.
"What? Soldiers have actually come? How many of them are there?"
"There are at least seven or eight hundred men, each holding a weapon and looking fierce. The thugs dare not make any rash moves and are waiting for your orders, sir."
"Seven or eight hundred? This county magistrate actually managed to mobilize those common soldiers. How is that possible? I'll go and see for myself." Long Geng had just finished speaking when he was about to go outside to see for himself.
"Quick, hurry up! The government troops have all arrived. How can we possibly fight them?" Long Shijin slumped into a chair.
Long Gengcai arrived at the gate and saw through the crack in the door that the outside was surrounded by soldiers, and Fu Changfeng was sitting at a table with stacks of papers on it. There were soldiers surrounding him, leaving an open space in the middle.
There were still many people watching from the outside, and they were all a little confused, but fortunately, someone soon explained it to them.
"The Long family has been in Shaoming County for many years, committing all sorts of evil deeds and atrocities. First, they encroached on the people's land, then they illegally occupied government land, failed to pay grain taxes according to regulations, and even murdered people and abducted women. Their crimes are numerous and countless. Now they refuse to come to the county government office and have even imprisoned the yamen runners who came to report them. In the spirit of eliminating a scourge for the people, I, the official, am here today to hear the case. Summon the victims to come forward and explain the whole story. Let this wicked family be eradicated!"
After Fu Changfeng finished speaking, he began to summon the people who had filed complaints. More and more onlookers gathered around, all watching the newly arrived magistrate uphold justice.
Long Gengcai was also frightened when he saw this scene. It seemed that the county magistrate was serious. He had to report to his father immediately and think of a solution.
"Go quickly and call all the tenants we notified. Don't let them succeed, or our family will be finished."
"Father, our people can't get out at all right now. They can't even send messages. Besides, people at the gate have already filed complaints. I'm afraid this will be very troublesome."
"What should we do? Where are the thugs? Where are the thugs? Tell them to be ready at any time. If necessary, we'll fight them to the death."
“How can our family survive in Shaoming County after this? If we rebel against the county government and the soldiers, others will probably regard our family as bandits. I think we should run away and go somewhere else.” Long Shijin’s second son, Long Gengqiu, had already seen the situation clearly. At this time, he had no other choice but to see if he could break through the encirclement and escape.
"But our Long family has been operating here for decades. If we just leave like this, I'm really unwilling!"
"Yes, I'm not reconciled either, but what can I do now?" Long Shijin realized that the magistrate was trying to use their family to establish his authority. He regretted not stopping them in time, which led to this bitter outcome.
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